Police In Connecticut Want Armed Drones

Police in Connecticut want lawmakers to allow them to arm their drones, suggesting armed drones would benefit public safety. Police point to an earlier YouTube video that went viral where a drone was outfitted with a handgun and shown shooting. The incident is enough reason for the police department to want to arm and use their own drones in the name of public safety. You can watch the viral YouTube video in question below and see what the police are referring to.

The ACLU has stepped in and are testifying that allowing police to use armed drones could result in more excessive force used by the police. The police department has also cited that they believe aircraft could be a target of armed drones and arming their drones would be a countermeasure to that threat.

“We’ve had a report that somebody’s going to fly a drone into an airplane, into an engine, or it’s a weaponized drone,” Farmington Police Chief Paul Melanson said. “We’re concerned and we don’t have those answers yet.”

Drone legislation and regulation still has a long way to go and both law enforcement and the public have much to learn about drones. But should armed drones even be an option for the police department? At one point do you go from armed drone to laser precision attack instrument? Many police departments already have tactical military equipment, even tanks, that are purchased from government surplus programs. If they can own tanks and machine guns do armed drones really make a huge difference? Seems like there will be a lot to discuss in Connecticut concerning this issue and we’ll try and update if we hear any new news.

In the meantime what do you think of police wanting to arm their drones? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

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